By Lenie Lectura July 8, 2020
The Energy Regulatory Commission
(ERC) said it will impose administrative sanctions against distribution
utilities (DUs) that continue to collect from their customers the Universal
Charges-Environmental Charges (UC-EC) and the Feed-in-Tariff Allowance
(FiT-ALL) during quarantine period.
“There are items in our bill that
customers should not be charged of. One of which is FiT-ALL, which should not
be collected from electricity customers for two months since this is
government’s way of helping the public. But there are DUs that continue to collect
FiT-ALL from their customers.
We have said that the UC should not
be charged in May, but there are still DUs that continue to do so. These are
the violations,” ERC Chairman Agnes Devanadera said Tuesday.
The suspension of FiT-ALL and UC-EC
payments are part of the advisories issued by the ERC to all DUs during the
quarantine.
Devanadera said her office has
already identified the DUs that defied the commission’s billing advisories. “We
wrote them. There are corresponding administrative sanctions. They should
comply to government directives which benefits the public.”
Senate Energy Committee Chairman
Sherwin Gatchalian has implored the ERC to penalize DUs that fail to comply
with its advisories and directives aimed at alleviating the financial difficulties
of Filipino power consumers given strict quarantine measures.
Gatchalian pointed out that his
committee received at least 204 complaints from 179 complainants. Out of the
179 complainants, 176 have filed complaints against the Manila Electric Co.
(Meralco) and three are against the electric cooperatives.
The violations that Meralco
committed include the failure to clearly indicate the word “estimate” on the
bill, failure to provide line item for monthly installment, and the collection
of the UC-EC and the FiT-ALL during the period specified in ERC advisories,
according to the senator.
Citing a report from the ERC,
Gatchalian said at least six distribution utilities have been found to be in
violation of the ERC advisories. These erring distribution utilities are
Olongapo Electricity Distribution Co.; Misamis Oriental II Electric Cooperative
Inc.; Camarines Sur II Electric Cooperative Inc.; Central Negros Electric
Cooperative Inc.; Iloilo III Electric Cooperative Inc.; and Batangas II
Electric Cooperative Inc.
“Many are not following the advisory
of the ERC. I would like to encourage the ERC and take a proactive role in
looking at the compliance,” Gatchalian said in a mix of English and Filipino.
“The advisories are there to help
our constituents. But if the utilities don’t follow these advisories, then that
spirit of assistance will be futile.”
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